Just Car Blog

The modified concept of the Defender model will be revealed by Land Rover at Frankfurt Auto show. Though Land Rover relies on its luxury vehicles, this brand has helped the company to retain market share after World War II and hence the Tata Group India, who owns the company, thinks it’s crucial to upgrade.

The challenge lies in drafting and extending a new business plan with modification since the present model dates back to 1983 directly evolving from its original 1948 Land Rover Series 1.

The company expects new ways of achieving body modularity with better finish and custom budget starting either by creating a new platform with a separate chassis or using an adapted, challenging and cheap LR3 chassis.

The car maker plans to extract a greater share of utility SUV market through Defender, considering there’s good amount of competition on that terrain. It, however, has to be proved reliable to gain US-home markets and stick to premium utility stance.

Land Rover aspires to sell 60,000-80,000 units every year along with attractive military sales owing to parts business. Last year, 18,000 Defenders were sold and the company has plans to open a fourth plant in China, its biggest market.

The ERA Electric Raceabout prototype was found testing at the Nurburgring race facility. Pictures shot by enthusiastic spies reveal a handful of details of the vehicle.

The plug-in vehicle is actually developed by the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. The Electric Raceabout will be built on a carbon fiber monocoque chassis.

Power will be provided by four electric motors which run on a 32 kWh lithium-titanate battery. The system is able to kick off a continuous yield of 272 PS (200 kW / 268 hp) and 1,000 Nm (737 lb-ft) of torque.

This, in turn, allows the vehicle to sprint from 0-100 km/h in six seconds and attain a maximum speed of 200 km/h (124 mph).

Spy shots of the forthcoming Jaguar XE prototype are finally available. The test mule was caught on lens while doing some hot-weather testing. The car is likely to roll out during the first half of 2013.

From what we hear, the two-seater XE will come in two forms –a coupe and a cabriolet. The models are likely to put up a fight with the Porsche Cayman and 911 models.

Going by the spied images, the vehicle is likely to sport a centrally-mounted twin exhaust. We also get to see a condensed XK body and chassis. A variety of interior changes are also visible, though only one image of the innards of the vehicle has been clicked.

We are just waiting to see the car go in to production. When it happens, we guess two versions of the V6 will be at play. We will have to wait till 2013 to know more on that.

Finally, Rotary Supers Cars (RSC) has come up with all new Predator GT following heavy criticism that the Raptor GT was just an altered copy of Ferrari 599XX.

Powered by a four-rotor Wankel engine based on the Mazda 13B MSP that develops up to 1,200 PS (883 kW / 1184 hp), Predator GT adopts a Lamborghini-esque styling. Further, the engine will be connected to an eight-speed sequential transmission, which enables the 1,100 kg (2,425 lb) supercar to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in less than three seconds.

As of now, there has been no official announcement on when the new model will be out. The company had also planned to unveil a Raptor GT prototype in late 2010, which never happened. Hence there is only limited room for speculation!

The latest track-ready prototype from Roding has been spotted. Fans will be disappointed to know that the car is not a pleasant sight to behold. However, a significant consolation is that the performance specs are extremely interesting.

For drivers for whom looks are secondary to performance, this should be a tempting proposition. The 2,100-pound carbon fiber shell of the roadster houses a turbocharged six-cylinder engine that easily provides around 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque; the engine is connected to a six-speed manual transmission. The vehicle can touch 1.4 gs in the corners.

The production version should be ready by early 2011 say sources. The company plans to have a limited-production run with 23 cars available in June.

Images of the Hyundai hatchback being readied for a 2012 debut have been found in the open. Obviously clicked on the sly, the pictures reveal the car to be much smaller than the Accent. We get to know that the Korean car maker is making the new hatchback primarily for the South African market and will be rolled out of its assembly line at Piracicaba in Brazil.

The HB could come in two variants – one a sedan and the other a compact SUV. Expected to be pitted against Volkswagen Gol and the Honda Fit, Hyundai might look at producing around 100,000 units a year. To arrive sporting two flex-fuel variants – 1.0 liter and a 1.6 liter engine – the hatchback would have design lines similar to the ix-Metro concept. If you would remember, Hyundai had showcased the ix-Metro concept at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

Meanwhile, sources tell us that the 1.0 liter version will come with unpainted door handles and mirrors.